9« 



IRISH GARDENING 



Au.uiisliiu' llcm\ 1 laix'tl. a few yi'ars a<i(). 

 f;ovoral liuiuliril sci'dliii^s lioiii tliis tivc, and 

 the d<)uV)t has now hcvn resolvod l)y all these 

 (wliic-l) vary from one another markedly in 

 api)earanee) showinj:; vuliiare l)lootl and tlic 

 typical hairs when examined. 1 <,Mve a seed 

 liiiu' t'riMU tliis tree, \vhieh 1 I'aiscd soine t\\cl\r 

 or lift ecu years aj^o. to the well know n Aiiiciiraii. 

 Professor 8ar<ri"nt . and lie \\rt>l<' to inc last ycai' 

 to tell me that it had llowcicd at the Aiiiold 

 Arboretum, near lioston. and had \cry small 

 yellow-lemon flowers, and was so distinct and 

 attractive as to deserve a varietal uami-. 



Perhaps as remarkable and conspicuous a 

 tree as any now ik)wering is Cornus brachypoda, 

 or, rather, C. controversa, as I believe we ought 

 now to call it. This is usually seen as a strag- 

 gling busli, but 1 ha\'e pruned off the h)wer 

 branches of the j)lant which I am endeavouring 

 to descrilx', and have obtained a clean, straight 

 stem of about five feet high, with a head of 

 broad, flat branches loaded with wiiite elder- 

 like, upright -standing corymbs ; the efEect is 

 wholly pleasing, and no one comes here with- 

 out their attention being immediately attracted 

 to it. 



Of plants in floAver which are more of the 

 nature of shrubs than trees, Ceanothnsdentatus, 

 with its small roimd bright blue flowers ; the 

 old fashioned Buddleia globosa, with its sweet- 

 scented orange balls ; and Viburnum macroce- 

 phalum, with its very fine white snowball 

 floAvers, which have almost the effect of a 

 Hydrangea, are perhaps the most brilliant. 

 Among the Viburnums which attain the dimen- 

 sion of a small tree, the true Viburnum Sie- 

 boldii has flowered very well, though it was 

 over by the end of May. This is a deciduous 

 plant, and quite distinct from the evergreen 

 shrub V. japonicum which is usually sold by 

 English nurserymen under the name of V. Sie- 

 boldii. 



The Syringas, or Lilacs, are practically over, 

 but some of Wilson's introductions, which have 

 got old enough to flower freely this May, are 

 quite worth growing. The best, in my judg- 

 ment, is S. reflexa, with real rose-red, not 

 purple-red, flowers. S. Wilsonii (flowers white) 

 is already ten to twelve feet high. S. Swegin- 

 zowrii, though it was honoured with an award 

 of merit when I exhibited last year, is not, to 

 my thinking, as good either as the old Persian 

 Lilac or as the much less common S. Julianse, 

 which was quite charming when in pale lilac 

 flower a fortnight ago. 



S. pinnata is more to be valued for its fine, 

 deeply-cut leaves, so unlike a lilac, than for 

 its white flowers which have no special merit. 

 S. Komarowii is also a good, tall, free-growing 



shnih. witli hii.k ivd m l.ud. and when fully 

 cx[)andcd rosy red and white llowcis, (|iiitc 

 attractive an(i as good as. if lu.t i)ct tci' t han. 

 the l)looin of S. relicxa. 



S. ja|)niiiea is well ^ct with ilowcr hiids wliich 

 ha\c not yet opened, and its lat<-ness wlien all 

 its congeners liave ceased to charm is an ad- 

 \aiitagc, against which may he set the un- 

 ])lcasant l»ri\e1-likc smell of its creamy-white 

 ilowcrs. It is not. howc\cr. <ine of the most 

 Ihiiving plants in l^urope. and to sec it in per- 

 fection one must go, if not to its native habitat 

 at any rate, to the Tnited States of 

 America. 



JJesidcs the al)o\'einent ioncd ChiiU'se Lilacs 

 ] have also fS. Sargent iana. which is in foliage 

 of the 8. Kuuxli type, hut has not yet borne 

 flowers with me, so I cannot describe them, 

 but, judging from its name, Professor Sargent 

 is not likely to have stood godfather unless it 

 were something out of the common. 



Anumg creeping or climbing plants now in 

 flower, far the most gorgeous is Lonicera ciliosa, 

 with deep orange clusters ; a quite hardy plant 

 which has been long ago introduced, and which 

 readily flourishes in any decent soil and climate, 

 but which is far too seldom seen. 



If this be just now our showiest climbing 

 plant, I think the most interesting is Arist(j- 

 lochia lietero]:>hylla. Its foliage is much smaller 

 and more refined than the better known A. 

 sipho, and its chocolate- white flowers even 

 more closely resemble the " Dutchman's Pipe," 

 which has furnished a popular name for the 

 other. 



If the above account should arouse in any 

 reader's breast a wish to see this garden, I hope 

 he will present himself when next in the neigh- 

 bourhood, as the place is always open to anyone 

 interested in horticulture. 



Aldenham Park, 

 3rd June, 1916, 



Pyrus sinaica. 



This little known species is very ornamental in 

 spring when covered with its white flowers. 

 The young leaves, too, are silvery in appear- 

 ance, though later on they become green. 

 Apparently never of large size, P. sinaica is 

 very suitable for planting as a lawn specimen, 

 growing rather slowly and never occupying a 

 great deal of space. It is said to be allied to 

 P. amygdaliformis, which also has grey leaves 

 and white flowers in spring, and which is also 

 well worth growing by all interested in orna- 

 mental trees. 



